Why “Fair” Trade Is Not The (Whole) Answer
Ian Fletcher Activist Post The idea of “fair” trade is very appealing, whether confronting the plight of autoworkers in Michigan or farmers in the Third World….
Trade
Kennedy’s Blunder, or How Free Trade Turned Sour for America
Ian Fletcher Activist Post How did America end up in its present trade pickle? NAFTA? No way. The WTO? I wish. To understand our present…
WTO Judicial Activism vs. America
Ian Fletcher Activist Post The WTO’s latest outrage has brought this odious organization to public attention again, but this is hardly the first time it…
Should Government Manage the Economy?
Wikimedia Commons image David Redick Activist Post There is a Great Divide between economists, politicians and citizen activists about the proper role of government in…
Expanding U.S.-Mexico Economic and Security Cooperation
image source: Be Your Own Leader Dana Gabriel Be Your Own Leader There were growing concerns over drug violence prior to the recent U.S.-Mexico summit,…
Conversations with Great Minds with Ian Fletcher – Problems of Free Trade/Globalism (Video)
TheBigPictureRT Ian Fletcher is Senior Economist of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nationwide grass-roots organization dedicated to fixing America’s trade policies and comprising…
US lawmakers seek to force action on trade pacts
Editor’s Note: Yes, just what we need to boost the American economy; more so-called “free trade” agreements written by nation-less corporations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell…
WTO Sides With Chinese State Capitalism Against the U.S.
Ian Fletcher Activist Post The World Trade Organization has a long history of anti-American actions. They’ve just handed us another one, and in the process…
Free Trade and the Tea Party: Puppets or Rebels?
Ian Fletcher Activist Post My job deprives me of the luxury of partisanship, as I have to reach out to both sides on the issue…
Free Trade Theory Known to be Wrong—Since 1817!
Ian Fletcher Activist Post The economic argument for free trade is ultimately based on the theory of comparative advantage, invented by David Ricardo in 1817….
Protectionism of the Future vs. Protectionism of the Past
Ian Fletcher Activist Post Protectionism is frequently tarred as a backward-looking policy which merely preserves yesterday’s jobs at the expense of tomorrow’s. This is…
Does Free Trade Cause a Race to the Bottom? Yes and No.
Ian Fletcher Activist Post The notorious “race to the bottom,” in which free trade causes the lowest standard in the entire world for wages, working…
Do Ideas Matter in Economic Policy, or Just Special Interests?
Ian Fletcher Activist Post It’s a depressing thought, familiar to everyone who has ever argued with anyone else about economics: do ideas about what’s true…
The Social Snobbery of Free Trade
Ian Fletcher Activist Post Skepticism about free trade is often stigmatized with ad hominem attacks. These mostly come down to variations on the following: Protectionists…